H*ll yeah I ride my bike!

by bonjourbicycle

image via

Today was the first day of a week long training I’m doing for work. After the day’s workshop ended, I was heading out and chatting with one of my workshop teammates. He mentioned that he rarely took the Metro and usually drove to work. I responded that I was taking Metro this particular day, because my bike’s in the shop, but that riding in would be my first choice. “Really?” was his surprised response, which is actually the normal reaction I get when I mention riding my bike. And, to be fair, that used to be my response when colleagues told me that they rode bikes to work. Admittedly, this was some time ago and it was really only three people. The point is the same, though — a majority of folks simply view bikes as recreational or racing items. It seems foreign to use bicycles as an actual mode of transport. And until this changes, we’ll continue to have more terrible traffic in and around DC, more grumpy people (from being stuck in said traffic), and continued environmental damage. I know bicycling to work is not feasible for everyone. We should think more broadly about our transportation options, however, and can certainly look good while doing so.

Sean Connery rides a bike.